Arts

Explore West Virginia’s vibrant arts scene, from traditional Appalachian music and craftsmanship to contemporary galleries, theater, festivals, and the artists shaping the state’s evolving cultural identity.

Wheeling Heritage is enlisting the community to help choose mural for Kossuth Park.

Wheeling Heritage to enlist community help in choosing mural

Wheeling Heritage is asking artists to share their vision of Wheeling, West Virginia, for a mural to be installed in the city’s Kossuth Park, a downtown greenspace at the junction of W.Va. 2 and I-70. Alex Weld, project and outreach manager for the Wheeling National Heritage Area, said the organization will enlist the community to … Read more

Highlights from a Fallout 76 map of the Savage Divide pay homage to the Allegheny Mountain region.

Mapping Fallout 76: John Barton explores The Savage Divide

Editor’s note: The fifth installment in John Barton’s examination of a map of the soon-to-be-released Fallout 76 video game investigates The Savage Divide region, which is based on the Allegheny Mountains region and its lofty Allegheny Front. The Savage Divide cuts across what’s being called “Appalachia” in Fallout 76. The name alone suggests a unforgiving … Read more

Bear Rocks Pink Morning, Dolly Sods Wilderness Area

Fallout 76 video game was nearly set in Pa., not West Virginia

The new Fallout 76 video game — to be released by Bethesda Softworks on November 14, 2018 — might have been set in Pennsylvania rather than West Virginia. However, one of the game’s developers says he found West Virginia’s landscape more alluring. “We were considering either West Virginia or Pennsylvania, but I decided I liked … Read more

Highlights from the Fallout 76 of the Ash Heap may reveal as much about West Virginia’s coal-mining history. Image courtesy Bethesda Softworks.

Mapping Fallout 76: John Barton explores The Ash Heap

Editor’s note: the fourth installment in John Barton’s examination of a map of the soon-to-be-released Fallout 76 video game investigates The Ash Heap region, which draws on the bloody history of mining and industrialism in West Virginia’s coalfields. The southwestern area on the Fallout 76 map, “The Ash Heap” — with its blackened appearance and … Read more

Mothman Legend in West Virginia

Sibray discusses Mothman, role in new Fallout 76 game

Mothman isn’t just any West Virginia monster, says David Sibray, publisher of West Virginia Explorer, who contends the beast that’s alleged to have haunted the hills near Point Pleasant may play a remarkable role in the upcoming Fallout 76 video game. “Of the five monsters we cover at West Virginia Explorer, all of which seem … Read more

The headless Grafton Monster as rendered in Fallout 76 haunts the hills of northern West Virginia.

The Grafton Monster: WVExplorer issues third Fallout 76 video

Do you believe in monsters? David Sibray hasn’t come clean on whether he does but admits the legend of the Grafton Monster of northern West Virginia is a subject that deserves investigation, at least where folklore is concerned. West Virginia Explorer has released the third in a series of video interviews that regard the lore … Read more

Best East Coast stargazing — West Virginia, USA.

West Virginia by Night: the works of Jesse Thornton

Rural and mountainous, West Virginia is home to some of the most star-spangled skies in the eastern U.S. — a circumstance of which photographer Jesse Thornton has made good use. https://wvexplorer.com/2018/08/17/west-virginia-night-jesse-thornton/2/h Seen from the top of Seneca Rocks, car lights trace US-33 and WV-55 through the vale of the North Fork of the South Branch … Read more

Highlights from the Fallout 76 of Toxic Valley may reveal as much about West Virginia's Chemical Valley.

Mapping Fallout 76: John Barton explores Toxic Valley

Editor’s note: the third installment in John Barton’s examination of a map of the soon-to-be-released Fallout 76 video game investigates the Toxic Valley region, which, he points out, shares many similarities with West Virginia’s Chemical Valley. “Toxic Valley” occupies the northernmost region on the Fallout 76 map produced by Oscerlot, though I think it’s likely … Read more